The invention relates to ornamental devices of the nature called xe2x80x9csnowballsxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9csnowglobesxe2x80x9d wherein a material is suspendable in a clear liquid observable through a transparent envelope and in which there is a particulate which when the fluid is agitated, will take on the appearances of snow, confetti, leaves, sand or the like falling on a scene within the envelope such as a house or trees or individuals or the like.
xe2x80x9cSnowglobesxe2x80x9d have been known for many years. They usually include a Christmas scene or a replica of a well known scene such as a winter scene in which the White House, a covered bridge, Nativity or the like is disclosed which can be shaken by hand so that the artificial snow will be mixed in the fluid to give the appearance of snow falling, etc. These devices are readily available in retail stores and souvenir outlets. Some of the devices may include a music box. Unfortunately the ornamental devices are so constructed that the particulate material used to simulate snow or leaves or the like, will not stay in suspension for any great length of time and will eventually fall to the bottom of the device until shaken once again.
In recent years patents have issued such as Teng, U.S. Pat. No. 4,452,283 and Chen, U.S. Pat. No. 6,078,000, which are motor driven and move the particulate particles in the ball by means of a type of agitator. Hwang et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,757,986, shows a water ball in which the main character rotates with musical accompaniment.
All of the above mentioned inventions used magnetic means to rotate the figure in the fluid.
It is an object of this invention to provide an ornamental display receptacle which will maintain the particulate in suspension as long as desired without manipulating the device.
Still another object of this invention is to provide an ornamental display receptacle which has an agitator which is power driven and which can be turned OFF and ON as desired.
Another object of this invention is to provide an ornamental display receptacle which is inexpensive and easy to manufacture and which provides entertainment for extended periods of time without manipulation by an individual.
It is another object of this invention to be able to provide a suspendable particulate in a liquid display device in which the particulate can be agitated at various rates of speed to give certain effects such as a light snowfall, moderate snowfall or blizzard type conditions.
A further object of this invention is to provide an agitation mechanism design to circulate the fluid whereby the display statue or article remains stationary within the ball while the fluid is agitated sufficiently to move the particulate material.
In summary this invention relates to ornamental display receptacles which contained a fluid in a particulate in the fluid which can be agitated without manual manipulation.
These and other objects of the present invention will be apparent from the following description including the drawings in which: